Freedom of the Seas Cruise March 9th-16th; A cruise of firsts

[tdmullins]

You are awesome at writing reviews. We are sailing on the Freedom in June. Can you tell me about the Soda machine? Is it only soda? What about lemonade or fruit punch? Is it true that you must scan a micro chip in your mug and fill up? Also, how much are the cupcakes at the cupcake place?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Melody

 

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the kind words.

 

I love the soda machines. They have lemonade and flavored water. You can even flavor the lemonade! Here is a pick of the screen. Once you make a selection, it will then give you flavor options.

 

 

If you pre-pay for the soda package a cup will be in your cabin when you arrive. If not pre-payed they give you a cup when you pay for it. They will have a table set up for you to do this. This cruise it was outside of the windjammer. The microchip is in the bottom of the cup. THe computer reads it when you set the cup inside the machine here....

 

 

located under the screen. The microchip will only allow you to fill up every 15 minutes.

 

I think my cupcake was $3.50. But I am not sure about that at all, because I now realized that I did not get a picture of the prices. But I remember them being about the same you pay at most cupcake shops.

 

Hope this helps, and please let me know if I can answer any more questions.

Edited April 2, 2014 by tdmullins

[tdmullins]

LOVING your review. DH has given me the go ahead to make vacation plans for just the 2 of us in Sept. I am leaning towards booking a cruise on Freedom of the Seas based on your review. Can't wait to read more.

 

You will love the Freedom!

[tdmullins]

I woke up knowing that we would already be in port since we were supposed to have docked at 8am. Also I had heard the Captain talking and apologizing for the delay in passengers being able to leave the ship. A little bit later the Captain came over the speakers in the cabins. He apologized for “breaking” into everywhere but that he wanted to let everyone know that they were getting ready for a drill for crew only and did not want to alarm anyone. I thought this was nice because on our last two cruises this announcement was not made in the cabins. On the Jewel it scared Tony and I and we headed in a mad rush out our cabin door. Our stateroom steward was standing there and starting laughing us. She then let us know it was a drill. On the Enchantment, I was gun shy from the Jewel and just kinda stuck my head out the door, and our stateroom attendant again informed us it was a drill. This time I was informed but they didn't do the 7 short horn blasts followed by one long one. You know the one that says..hey we are sinking head to your lifeboat. I did hear the Captain come over the speakers in the public areas with a “Charlie, Charlie, Charlie.” So it must have been a different kind of drill this time around.

 

At this point I decided it was time for me to get out of bed and get ready for ST Maarten! So I ran to my balcony to pull open my curtains so that I could take in the beautiful view of St Maarten. And got this....

 

 

A wonderful view of the MSC Musica. Oh wel,l the views would have to wait til I got off the ship.

 

 

My initial plans for this port were to grab a taxi and head to Marigot then head back to Phillipsburg to grab a pin from the Hard Rock. But this cruise review could have the subtitle, “The Lazy Cruise” We just could not force ourselves to get out of bed early. Being that we didn't make it off the ship til noon, we decided to readjust our plans. We didnt want to try to squeeze that all in 4 and half hours since all aboard was at 4:30. Technically it ended up being more like 4:50, but I'll get to that later.

 

It was another gorgeous day, and we had a pleasant stroll down the pier as we headed towards the water taxi. When you get to the shopping area of the port you can either walk straight through the shopping area and head to the taxi area,

 

 

or veer to the left for the water taxi.

 

 

I had a friend tell me to make sure to take this if we headed to Phillipsburg first. So we did. It was $7 round trip or $5 one way. They run every 5 or 10 minutes so you do not wait long for one to show up. Neither do you sit and wait a long time to leave.

 

 

I must apologize again for my pics. My camera was still set for the dark shots that I took the night before.

 

So across the inlet we go to Phillipsburg.

 

[YOUTUBE]EOPiDZZ-hn0[/YOUTUBE]

 

The view of the beach once you get there.

 

 

Where you get on and off the water taxi, Phillipsburg side.

 

Edited April 3, 2014 by tdmullins

[tdmullins]

We docked right across from the Hard Rock Cafe, so I made this my first stop. I collect the guitar pins from the cities that have HRCs that I am fortunate enough to visit. But to my dismay they were out! So it settled on one that only had the guitar headstock on it. I will decided later if I will go online and buy an actual guitar one or wait until the next time I visit. (update: I bought one from Ebay)

 

Strolling down the street from Hard Rock

 

 

After strolling around Phillipsburg some taking in the beautiful water and mountain ranges. We grabbed some lunch here.

 

 

It was a little hole in the wall kind of place, but we like to try these places while traveling since that's how you find some real gems. Cornie's didnt end up being a diamond, but it was good.

 

Our view while eating.

 

 

I got the shrimp sandwich.

 

 

Tony the ribs.

 

 

After the waitress left from taking our order, Tony looked at me and said,” I hope I don't regret ordering that since she looked shocked that I had wanted the ribs.”

 

 

After we ate, an older man that I am assuming was Cornie came out from the kitchen. I could see him cooking in the back when we came in. He sat down with us and chatted for a little then offered to take our pic. After taking a normal one, he looked at me and said..."no, you must kiss him!"

 

[tdmullins]

After eating we strolled around some more and I took some more pics of the area.

 

 

 

 

We then decided to head back to the ship. The ride back on the water taxi was a fun one. The guys running the service try really hard to give the boat a party atmosphere. We rode the bigger boat back where the crew was dancing, singing and just overall trying to entertain us on the short ride back.

 

[YOUTUBE]JJIf4e5LIgM[/YOUTUBE]

 

Once back at the port, we shopped some there also. But none of the shops really caught my attention. Tony pointed out a chocolate shop that he said they were advertising on the ship. The had a sign posted that said that they would drop your purchase off at the ship. Which made sense, that way you do not have to carry chocolate around in the heat and just have globs of chocolate when you finally get back to the ship. I didnt buy any, but kinda wish I had at least tried it.

[beshears]

Hello, I havent't finished your review or great pictures, but I wanted to ask these questions before I forget. :(

 

We are to be cruising FOTS on the 27th of April for the first time, so it won't be long for us.:)

 

In front of Starbucks (my company owns Starbucks:)), I see a sign that said: Community Bulletin Board with cards on it. What was that all about?

 

I have never been to the solarium, but have walked close by. Is there a charge for adults to use it?

 

I see where you were invited to a Q & A party. My friend who is with me is not a member, as this is her first time on RCCL. Would she be able to attend this party, or is it just for me? Was it just talk, or did they serve anything?

[mulan1123]

The community board is like a notice board for other passengers to post.

 

When we were on Oasis last year, there was a message from a passenger for a mah-jong (not the solitaire but the traditional Chinese mah-jong version) tournament for sea days and inviting anyone to join. And I saw another one were other passengers will post to ask to borrow a charger/cord for their phone or camera for the night. Or someone may post a lost and found notice.

[mjeff87]

Tony pointed out a chocolate shop that he said they were advertising on the ship. The had a sign posted that said that they would drop your purchase off at the ship. Which made sense, that way you do not have to carry chocolate around in the heat and just have globs of chocolate when you finally get back to the ship. I didnt buy any, but kinda wish I had at least tried it.

 

 

That would be Beatrix....her chocolate is not to be missed. Make sure you stop and meet her the next time you are there, she is really nice and her chocolates are excellent.

 

Jeff

[tdmullins]

Hello, I havent't finished your review or great pictures, but I wanted to ask these questions before I forget. :(

 

We are to be cruising FOTS on the 27th of April for the first time, so it won't be long for us.:)

 

In front of Starbucks (my company owns Starbucks:)), I see a sign that said: Community Bulletin Board with cards on it. What was that all about?

 

I have never been to the solarium, but have walked close by. Is there a charge for adults to use it?

 

I see where you were invited to a Q & A party. My friend who is with me is not a member, as this is her first time on RCCL. Would she be able to attend this party, or is it just for me? Was it just talk, or did they serve anything?

 

First of all I love Starbucks! And it looks like someone already answered about the board. Yes, its a place where people post notices. I didn't read any posted tho, so I am not sure what all was being posted this cruise.

 

No there is no charge for the Solarium, its just a kid free area.

 

The welcome back party is just for returning cruisers, so your friend would not be able to if this is her first Royal Caribbean Cruise. I did not get to go to it but I am pretty sure they serve cocktails.

 

I hope I answered your questions. Let me know if I can help in any other way.

[tdmullins]

A band playing at the cruise port.

 

 

Here is some video I shot as we headed back to the ship. It shows all the ships in port and my walk down the pier to the ship.

 

[YOUTUBE]GLICyuoZDyU[/YOUTUBE]

 

Back at the ship we went straight to our cabin to drop our stuff off. I then took the time to go to the top decks to get some pictures from that point of view.

 

 

Watching one of the other ships leave.

 

 

The Royal Princess docked beside of us.

 

 

I could just stare out at this all day.

 

[tdmullins]

Some video I shot of St Maarten from the top decks of the ship.

 

[YOUTUBE]SkuB5BYs6X4[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

Then it was just hang out time in our room until we sailed away.

 

Tony and I decided to watch sail away from our deck since we were facing the pier. We were in the prime location to watch pier runners. 4;30 (back on board time) came. The pier was full of people. The station set up towards the forward part of the ship shut down and put all their stuff on board. The aft station took everything down except for the gang plack. 4:45 came and people were still filing onto the ship. Nobody running, or really even appearing to be a hurry. The only thing I could figure out was that an RCL excursion must have been running late, therefore everyone knew they had time to get on the ship. At the last minute I did see one guy coming running. By the time he got to the ship the gang plank was halfway pulled up, but he only had a package to drop off so he just placed it on the gangplank as they pulled it on board. Of course the thought that ran through my head was that some one almost didn't get their chocolates!

 

Here we are waiting on everyone.

 

[YOUTUBE]qLvMw2pGkCo[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

We sailed away at 5, so pretty much as soon as they pulled that gangplank back onto the ship. I chose to sit out on my balcony and read as the beautiful scenery of St. Maarten slowly went by.

 

 

 

I could watch this water all day.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2014 by tdmullins

[tdmullins]

It was just working well for us. The fact is we kinda regret doing MTD because their was zero personal attention that night. We thought it would work better since it was just the two of us this cruise. But at the same time the casual atmosphere was working really well for us because we were looking forward to a week of total relaxation.

 

 

We started out at Jade again tonight.

 

 

 

My soup, Japanese egg drop. It was very, very good.

 

 

Tempura, sweet and spicy pork, and my prawn crisps that I fell in love with.

 

 

After dinner we headed towards the Ice show. We ran into Alex from Madagascar taking pics with some kiddos.

 

 

[tdmullins]

We went to Studio B around 8:15 for the 9pm show. Which was a good thing because the line got long fast! They did scan our seapass and told anyone without reservations to step to the side and wait to see if there would be any spots available.

 

The show started out slow to me. My thinking at that point was “eh, this is ok. But I am not really impressed.” But then it kicked up a notch. The special guests Slava & Katya wowed the crowd. She changed outfits no less than 10 times I think. They were awesome.

 

 

Here are some more pictures from the show.

 

 

 

Yes, that pirate has three legs.

 

 

The cruise director, Casey Pelter, doing a jump.

 

[tdmullins]

This was also the night for Dancin in the Streets, 70's night. It was most definitely a party atmosphere all along the promenade. Everyone loved it when the village People showed up.

 

 

 

After leaving the 70's party I went to the gallery to check out the pics. I actually ended up here because the Promanade was so crowded I decided to dart down the steps to deck 4. Since I was there I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask them about the vouchers for my picture frame and picture. I told the lady working there the whole story. She ended up writing up a “ticket” for me to sign, then gave me the items.

 

I then grabbed Tony and we decided to walk around the upper decks. We have loved doing this on past cruises. But we had not had a chance to do this yet, we even missed the dance party on the pool deck the night before.

 

The Solarium at night

 

 

We checked out the movie on the big screen, The Hobbit for a bit.

 

 

We walked back to the flowrider area just really checking things out.

 

Mini golf at night.

 

 

The kids area at night.

 

Tony decided he wanted to watch the end of the Hobbit. I stayed or a little while, but got bored and cold. I informed Tony that I was going to get some pizza for a late night snack and I would see him back in the room. So to Sorrento's I went! I decided to take the long way back to the room so that I could stop by the Promenade Cafe and see what kind of cookie offerings they had. As I was walking, Tony came up behind me and said that the movie ended pretty well right after I left.

 

We took our goodies and headed to the cabin for the night.

[tdmullins]

Our special breakfast was delivered again this morning..lol. It was actually a lot better this time around. Especially since I had not already ate.

 

My french toast.

 

 

Eggs with cavier

 

 

The Captain had told us the night before that the weather would start turning bad around mid day. My plans for the day were originally to have lunch at Johnny Rockets at 1 then head to the theatre to watch the Croods in 3-D at 2.

 

Then it starting looking this outside.

 

 

This is what actually happened.

 

We napped after breakfast. I won't say we woke up hungry but we woke up ready to eat. By this time it was raining and the wind was blowing pretty good by then. We realized on our way to Johnny Rockets that the rain had drove everybody indoors.

 

This storm did help me discover that you can get to Johnny Rockets thru the game arcade without going outside. A couple of crew members directed us that way because they were attempting to hang a sign on the door to the outside. I say attempting because one of the poor guys would start to tape it to the door but the automatic door would open. He kept trying while his buddy just stood there and laughed.

 

Once we got to Johnny Rockets it was crowded. The outside seating was not available because of the weather. This made the wait for a table. We declined and headed to the Windjammer..which was crazy. Almost embarkation day crazy. We did manage to find a table and decided to reevaluate our movie plans. Our thinking was that EVERY kid with their parents would be there since no inside activities were happening. Also almost ALL of the conversations around us was discussing the movie. So it was a pass on the movie.

 

And it was back to our room for ...you guess it...reading and napping

 

I started out here.

 

 

Then moved to here.

 

 

I was crazy productive wasn't I?

 

This really was the perfect day for cruise napping. By perfect I mean, the rain made us sleepy, the gentle rocking of the boat made us sleepy and the amounts of food we had ate this week made us sleepy. At this point I dubbed this day, “The Laziest Day at Sea, ever” And it was perfect!

 

 

We eventually awoke from our sea/rain/food comas and decided it was time to eat. We also decided we couldn’t even be bothered to walk to the Windjammer to get it. So it was room service time!!! I decided to go for the honey stung chicken since I missed it on embarkation day, Tony went for the Bistro Burger. My chicken was two pieces that had been cut in half, not sure why. And it lacked any honey taste. The only comment I could get from Tony about his burger was, “It's ok”

 

Also I want to note, that was another first for us. Room Service for dinner. I'll be honest, at this point I was regretting not having a Grande Suite. Our first two cruises when we did have a Grande Suite and access to the MDR menu for room service I had always thought, “what a waste.” Because we never skipped the MDR for dinner. But this night I could see where this would have been very, very nice since this was the cruise for skipping the dinning room.

 

 

Unfortunately this means that I can tell you ZERO of what went on around the ship that day or night. But I can tell you that it is possible to have a crazy lazy catch up on sleep day on a ship and love every minute of it!

[tdmullins]

The next morning I woke up and realized...GASP!..It was our last day!!! No, it couldn't be. I need more time.

 

Fortunately it was a beautiful day! On our last day, the weather was perfect and the day ended up perfect.

 

I wanted to walk around the ship one more time and see and experience everything again. So we took our time, wondered around and enjoyed the nice weather.

 

First, we headed to the aft of the ship and checked out what was going on there.

 

Some fierce basketball playing and wall climbing was one.

 

 

Some mini golf

 

 

It was then on to the flowrider.

 

 

 

 

[tdmullins]

From there we walked back through the ship headed towards the theatre. Gravity in 3D was scheduled to be shown there this day.

 

We went through the schooner bar.

 

Not too much happening here.

 

I hate, hate, hate, that the ONLY picture I took of the front of the theatre ended up blurry. I need to learn to show down when I take pics.

 

 

 

The ceiling of the theatre.

 

 

 

Tony and I sporting our 3D glasses.

 

 

yes, I know it was dark inside the theatre.

 

THen it was movie time.

 

[tdmullins]

After the movie we decided to get back outside and enjoy the weather. We headed to the pool area.

 

It was busy. Everybody was getting the most out of their last day at sea.

 

 

Look at these two!

 

 

A week of cruising and relaxing has done some good! Don't these faces look more relaxed, not to mention more tan than the two on sail away day!

 

We then decided we wanted to finally enjoy some Johnny Rockets.

 

 

The menu

 

 

They bring out fries and onion rings as an appetizer.

 

ahhh. Root beer and Johnny Rockets at sea. Everything is just better at sea!

 

[tdmullins]

I got the original burger with bacon.

 

 

Tony ordered the chicken bacon melt.

 

 

My burger was very, very good! Tony's bacon ended up not cooked enough but he said the rest of the sandwich was very good. In my opinion it is worth the 5.95 a person cover charge. Definitely something not to be missed.

 

From there I headed back to the Promenade. They had it all ready for the Dreamworks parade.

 

 

At that point I hit the casino once last time.

 

 

I did a lot better this time, as in my money let me play for a long time. I still walked out with no money. I did turn in my points for a hat. So I guess I can't say I walked away empty handed. But man that was an expensive hat!!

 

For dinner we went with the Jade/Windjammer combo again. It wasn't broke so we didn't fix it this cruise. I will say I was very surprised and the number of people who ate their every night. In the back of mind I was kinda feeling quilty for skipping the MDR every night, but I then realized a lot of people were too!

 

After dinner I decided it was Ben & Jerry's time. The night before somewhere in between all the sleeping I woke up and made my way to Ben & Jerry's. But I only got one scoop of chocolate. Tonight I thought I would try some other flavors.

 

 

The pic of the menu was a little blurry, but I am hoping it is readable enough for everyone to see the prices and options.

 

Tonight I went with Cherry Garcia and Phish Food.

 

 

It was good, very good. Of course there is free ice cream on the ship. Every time I passed Sprinkles, the soft serve machine, on the pool deck there was always a line. So it must have been good. But I never tried it. I did get a scoop of chocolate in the windjammer one night and it was just ok. So if you are wanting a very flavorful yummy ice cream, pony up the extra money and go for the Ben & Jerry's.

[mbrownferrier]

Thanks for the wonderful reviews and pictures. I definitely can't wait until our Thanksgiving cruise on FOS. :D

[pam_1024]

Cool! I'm in Pikeville!

 

Lawrenceburg here. :D I grew up just North of Somerset. Went to school with lots of folks with the last name Mullins. We did Freedom Western Caribbean last May. Looking forward to Freedom Eastern this November! Too much to do on that ship in just 7 days!

[tdmullins]

Lawrenceburg here. :D I grew up just North of Somerset. Went to school with lots of folks with the last name Mullins. We did Freedom Western Caribbean last May. Looking forward to Freedom Eastern this November! Too much to do on that ship in just 7 days!

 

Cool! I have friends in Lawrenceburg. I also worked in Frankfort for a year after graduating from UK before deciding to move back to Pikeville. I also use to go through Somerset a lot on trips to Nashville. Unfortunately those trips aren't as often as they use to be.

 

I can't wait to sail this ship again because you are totally right. There is just too much to do in just 7 days. Especially if you want to try to relax and be lazy..lol.

It may be next spring before I make it back on her again, tho.

[mulan1123]

We did Freedom Western Caribbean last May. Looking forward to Freedom Eastern this November! Too much to do on that ship in just 7 days!

 

We're doing the Eastern Caribbean on Freedom in November too!! And I agree - too much to do in 7 days. We did the Western Caribbean on Oasis last year and loved it! Which sail date will you be doing??

[beshears]

OK, thank you for letting me know what the community board is all about. Good idea.

[Lejardin]

I have enjoyed your review very much :D one of the best. Thanks for sharing,.